Machine for filling bags, settling the contents thereof, and closing them



March 17, 1925.

HOEPNER MACHINE FOR FILLING BAGS, SETTLING THE 4 Sheets-Sheet l CONTENTSTHEREOF, AND CLOSING THEM Filed June 2, 1923 March 17, 1925. 1,530,118

G. HOEPNER MACHINE FOR FILLING BAGS SETTLING THE CONTENTS THEREOF, ANDCLOSING THEM Filed June 2, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 17, 1925.1,530,118

G. HOEPNER MACHINE FOR FILLING BAGS, SETTLING THE CONTENTS THEREOF, ANDCLOSING THEM Filed'June 2, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 March 17, 1925.

- G. HOEPNER MACHINE FOR FILLING BAGS, SETTLING THE CONTENTS THEREOF,AND CLOSING THEM Filed June 2, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Mar. 17,1925.

UNITED STATES PATEN GEORGE H OEPNER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MACHINE FOR FILLING BAGS, SETTLING THE oofi'rnn'rs THEREOF, AND CLOSINGTHEM.

Application filed June 2,

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, GEORGE Honrmm, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago. county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented acertain new and useful Improvement in Machines for Filling Bags,Settling the Contents Thereof, and Closing Them, and declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, suchas will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to makeand use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,which form a part of this specification.

Various kinds of commodities are shipped in large bags adapted tocontain a, hundred pounds or more of such commodities. The bags arefilled and then closed. No matter how the commodities are introducedinto the bags, whether by means of automatic weighing machines, orotherwise, it is necessary to jar the contents of the bags to settle andcompact them in order to leave sufiicient margin at the mouth of thebags to permit the bags to be closed easily, unless the bags be madeunduly long; this settling and compacting of the contents of the bagsbeing required regardless of whether the bags are tied shut or sewedshut. Heretoe fore, so far as I am aware, it has always been necessaryfor the attendants to lift and drop the heavy filled bags several timesin order to settle their contents, taking up time which could otherwisebe usefully employed and making the work for the attendants undulyheavy. Furthermore, so far as I am aware, after the bags have beenfilled it has been necessary for the attendants not only to cause thecontents to settle, but also to lift the bags from the filling point tothe point at which the bags are closed, here, also, involving possibleloss of time and unduly heavy labor on the part of the attendants.

The object of the present invention is to produce a simple and novelmachine in which the contents of a bag may be caused automatically tosettle and the filled bag to be carried away to and past a closingdevice without requiring any lifting on the part of an attendant, or anyother work on his part than the manipulation ofthe con trolling leversfor the machine.

In carrying out my invention I make use of a conveyor underlying a bagfilling 1823. Serial No. 642,937.

means and running past a closing mechamsm, preferably a sewing machlne,to-

gether with means for intermittently driving the conveyor so that itwill serve to support a bag underneath the filling means until the bagis filled, and then carry it to and past the closing mechanism. I alsoem-, ploy means for bodily lifting at least that portion of the conveyorin the vicinity of the bag filling means and then dropping it so aseffectively to jar the contents of a bag thereon and cause them tosettle, this jarring process being kept up as long as may be necessaryin order properly to settle the contents of the bag; and the jarringmechanism being adjustable according to the nature of the goods orcommodities and the amount that is to be placed in a bag.

The various features ofnovelty whereby my invention is characterizedwill hereinafter he pointed out with particularity in the claims; butfor a full understanding of my invention and of its objects andadvantages reference may be had to the following detailed descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

F gure 1 is a front elevation of a machine arranged in accordance withmy invention, including a sewing machine and the discharge end of anautomatic weighing machine; Fig. 2 is an end view, looking at the lefthand end of the machine as it appears in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an end viewof the machine looking at the right hand end as it appears in Fig. 1;Fig. 4 is a section taken approximately on line 4-74: of Fig. 1; Fig. 5is a section taken approximately on line 5-5 of Fig. 1, on an enlargedscale, only the supporting yoke for the swinging end of the conveyor andthe means for lock ing it or permitting it to move up and down, beingshown; and Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the inner end of the foot levershown in Fig. 5.

In the drawings I have illustrated my invention as embodied in amechanism including a weighing machine and a sewing maconsidered,generically, as bag filling means. Adjacent to. the bag filling means isa sewing machine 2 which may conveniently be driven by a suitable motor3. The bag filling and closing means may be supported in any suitableway as, for example, on a standard 4.

' Arranged below the bag fillin means and the sewing machine is a movabe conveyor, shown as taking the form of; an endless belt 5, the upperrun of which is horizontal. The conveyor beltipasses around two widepulleys or rolls 6 and 7. The roll 6, which lies beyond the verticalplane of the sewing machine, is' fixed to a shaft 8 supported in asuitable forked pedestal 9, the arms 10 and 11 of which lie in proximityto the ends of the roll 6; while the roll 7 which runs idle, has itsjournals 12 rotatably mounted between a pair of longitudinal plates orbars 13 extending from one roll to the other in proximity to the ends ofthe rolls. The upper run of'the conveyor belt rests on a series of smallrollers 14 mounted between the'bars or plates 13 so as to projectslightly above the same. The pedestal 9 is mounted in a stationarypedestal 15 so as to be movable vertically relatively thereto whilebeing held against movements in other directions. On the inner side ofthe pedestal 9 is a lug 16, while below the. same and fixed to thepedestal 15 is a lug or bracket 17. A screw shaft 18 extends upwardlythrough and in screw-threaded relation with the lug or bracket 17, andloosely engages, at its up per'end, with the lug or bracket 16. A bevelgear wheel 19 is fixed to the/screw shaft 18. A cooperating bevel gearwheel 20 is rotatably supported by a bracket 21 on the pedestal 9. Thegear wheel 20 is fixed to a shaft 22, on the outer end of which is ahandle or crank 23. It will be seen that by turning the crank or handle23, the pedestal 9 may be' raised or lowered, so as to adjust the top ofthe conveyor to the proper height with respect to the sewing machine. Atsome distance from that end of the conve or at which the roll 7 issituated is a U-s aped frame member 24 underlying the conveyor belt andhaving its arms fastened to the bars or plates 13. A swinging strut 25is attached at its upper end to the frame member 24, conveniently byhanging it upon a journal 26 projecting laterally from said framemember; the strut being of such length that when it stands in a verticalposition and rests at its lower end upon a stationary block-27 or othersuitable surface, the conveyor is supported in the proper position forcarrying a bag resting thereon from a filling posi tion past the sewingmachine.- When the strut is swung forwardly toward the observer in Fig.1, so as to carry it clear of the supporting block, the right hand endof the conveyor is allowed to drop down, swinging about the supportingshaft 8 at the opposite end. The downward swinging movement of theconveyor is limited by a post or other abutment 28 arranged directlybelow the frame member 24 and preferably having at the upper end a head-29 of rubber or other suitable cushioning material. The frame member 24is provided with a downwardly-projecting vertical arm 30 to which issecured a bar 31 adapted to be adjusted lengthwise of the arm. A roller32 rotatable about a horizontal axis, is carried by the bar 31 near theupper end of the latter; this roller lying directly above a cam 33adapated to be rotated as will hereinafter be described. The parts areso proportioned that when the strut 25 is swung into an inoperativeposition the free end of the conveyor structure dro s down until itsmovement is arrested by t e cushioned post and, as the cam is rotated,it engages with the roller 32, gradually lifting the conveyor and thenabruptly passing out from under the cam roller so as to permit theconveyor to drop down under the action of gravity.

It will be seen that if while a bag which has been filled or which isbeing filled is resting upon the conveyor near the swinging end of thelatter, the conveyor is alternately raised and dropped so as to strike aseries of blows on the cushioned post, the contents of the bag will bejarred and compacted. By adjusting the arm which carries the cam roll,the height through which the cam will lift the conveyor during eachrevolution of the cam may be varied and thus the length of the drop ofthe conveyor may be adjusted to suit the conditions of the particularservice which is to be rendered at any given time. Further regulationofthe jarring effect may be obtained in another manner than by thevariation of the distance through which the conveyor is allowed to drop,namely, by partially counterweighting the swinging end of the conveyorand a filled bag resting thereon. To this end I have suspended the freeend of the conveyor by means of a strong spring 35, the lower end ofwhich is attached to a bail 36 connected at its ends to the two sideframes 13, while the upper end of the spring is attached to a hookhaving a long shank 37 passing upwardly through a latorally-projectingarm 38 on the upper end of a stationary standard 39; the shank of thescrew being screw-threaded and having a nut 40 on the same above the arm38. By adjusting the'. nut the tension on the spring when the conveyoris. swung to the lower limit of its movement may be varied so as tooffset any part of the weight of a filled bag, so that the blow struckby the tliii by side at the front of conveyor on the post beneath thesame, for a drop of a given height, may be varied between wide limits.

On what is the rear side of the conveyor, as viewed in Fig. 1, is placedan elevated rail 41 secured upon the upper ends of suitable uprights 42fixed at their lower ends to the rear frame member or bar 13; the railserving as a support against which a filled bag may rest so as toprevent the bag from toppling over and at the same time guide the baginto operative relation to the sewing machine when the conveyor is movedfor the purpose of carrying the filled bag away from the filling point.

In the arrangement shown, the conveyor and the vibrating mechanismtherefor are adapted to be driven by an electric motor 45 mounted upon asuitable standard 46', the lower end of. which is fastened to a gear box47 lying in rear of the conveyor, as it appears in Fig. 1, and throughwhich a rearward extension of the shaft Spasses. A main driving shaft 48extends through the gear box below and at right angles to the shaft 8,parallel with the direction of the length of the conveyor. This maindriving shaft extends entirely across the machine and is mounted at its0 posite end in a bearing in the upper end of a suitable stationarypedestal 49. The main driving shaft is driven through a suitable belt50, which in turn is driven by the motor 45. A suitable clutch 51. whichI have indicated only conventionaltv in the drawings, is arrangedbetween the shaft 8 and the last element of the gear mechanism in thegear box, so that the main driving shaft may run continuously and theshaft which drives the conveyor may run intermittently, permitting theconveyor to stand idle except when the clutch is thrown in. i

The cam for vibrating the conveyoris driven from the main shaft, so thatit is constantly rotated whenever the motor is running. The drivingconnection between the cam and the shaft may take any desired form. Inthe arrangement best illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3, it will be seen thatthere is fixed to the cam, so as to be rotatable therewith, a sprocketwheel 53, over which :runs a sprocket chain 54, which in turn passesover a sprocket wheel on the main driv'ihg shaft.

The clutch for controlling thedriving connection between the main shaftand the conveyor, and the starting and stopping of the sewing machinemotor, are controlled respectivelv by pedals 60 and 61 lying side themachine, so that an attendant may place one foot simultaneously on bothpedals and cause the conveyor and the sewing machine to start and sto inunison with each other. The supporting strut for the swinging end of theconveyor is controlled by a foot lever 62 pivotally supported at itsinner end beside the lower end of the strut 25, and having anupwardly-projecting arm 63 paralleling the strut when the strut is inits upright posifrom above the supporting'block 27; thus leaving theconveyor structure free to be moved up and down. The normal position ofthe strut is the upright position in which a spring 66 connected at oneend to the strut and at the other end to a stationary support, tendsconstantly to hold it. Therefore, when the attendant removes his footfrom the foot lever, the spring immediately swings the strut back abovethe supporting block. In the arrangement shown, one end of the spring isfastened to a clip 67 engaged with the pin in the strut, while the otherend of the spring is attached to a hook 68 rigidly fastened to theU-shaped frame 24. The support may be prevented from swinging back toofar in any suitable way as, for example,

by means of a stopor finger 70 attached to the lever arm, 63in rear ofthe strut and projecting across the plane in which the strut swings.

In order to give to the rearward extension of the shaft- 8 a support inaddition to that afforded by the pedestal 9, I have placed in rear ofthe machine a vertical standard 72 on which is mounted a bearing block73 adapted to be adjusted in a vertical direction; the rear end of thebearing in this block. Added stiffness is given to the structure by abrace 74 extend ing from the upper end of the support 46 for the motor45, in a downward lateral direction to the stationary frame member 49 atthe opposite end of the machine; and by a. diagonal tie rod 75 extendingfrom the functure of the guide rail 41 with one of theuprights 42 to thepoint of connection of the other upright 42 and the rear frame member13. These are, however, simply minor structural details.

It will be seen that a bag placed on the conveyor, directly below thefilling means, while the conveyor is standing still and the sewingmachine is idle, may be filled in the usual way. During the fillingoperation or at the end of such operation, if desired, the attendantpresses down on the foot lever 62, causing the supporting strut 25 to beswung into its inoperative position; whereupon the unsupported end ofthe conveyor structure drops down untilit rests on the cushioned post28. The main motor 45 having been shaft 8 having a previously started,the cam 33 will be constantly rotated, so thatduring each revolution itlifts the conveyor structure above the supporting post and againreleases it so as to permit it to drop by gravity and strike a more orless sharp blow against the post; the effect being to jar the contentsof the bag and cause them to settle and be compacted. As heretoforeexplained, a wide range of adjustment of the jarring action 'may'be madeto suit any particular conditions. When the contents of the bag havesettled sufficiently, the attendant releases the foot lever 62, stoppingthe jarring action, and he then immediately resses down on the twopedals and 61, c utchin the con- .veyor to the main drive shaft anstarting the sewing machine motor. Consequently the conveyor begins tomove,carrying the bag toward the left, as viewed in Flg. 1, past thesewing machine. Before the bag reaches the sewing machine the attendantcollapses and flattens out the upper portion thereof and directs thiscollapsed flattened portion into the sewing machine, so that the bagwill be sewed shut while traveling past the machine. When the bagreaches the left hand end of the machine it is dis-. charged by theconveyor on any suitable stationary or movable support,-not shown. ,ItWill thus be seen that after the attendant places an empty bag in themachine he is not required to lift the same or shift the same throughany manual exertion, because the jarring which has heretofore been doneby hand is done automatically and, after this operation, the filled bagis carried past the sewing machine and to a discharge point bypower-driven mechanism. Consequently the work of the attendant is madelight and much time issaved because of the rapidity with which theseveral'necessary operations may be performed by machinery and becausethe filling, sewing, jarring and con-' veying mechanisms are soco-ordinated that they form a single machine, which is simply suppliedwith empty bags and material to 11 them and discharges filled and closedags.

The main-motor is preferably provided with a reversing switch, notshown, so as to permit the conveyor to be run backwards in case it bedesired to carry a bag past the sewing machine more than once or if forany other reason it be desired to move a bag backwards. i

If the attendant is required to support the open upper end of the bag inhis hands while the filling progresses, there may be more or less wasteof material through spilling; and, if the bag is permitted to sag andwrinkle or fold, the attendant will be re quired to lift the bag more orless to cause it to expand fully, thus causing loss of time and placingan unnecessary burden on the attendant. To overcome these objections Ihave provided a simple device for insuring an opening of the mouth of abag as great as and registering with the discharge outlet opening fromthe filling means, and at the same time avoiding the formation ofwrinkles or folds in the body of the bag. To this end I make the lowerend of the outlet member 1 in the form of a short tube or pipe 80. Onthis tubular portion there is slidably fitted a sleeve 81 having aroundthe lower end an outwardly-directed flange 82, which is preferably cutaway on the front side of the machine. The sleeve is held in a raisedposition by four springs 83, two on the front side and two at the rear;these springs being attached at their upper ends to angle-irons 84fastened to the member 1 and being connected at their lower ends to thesleeve. The attendant places the mouth of a bag over the flanged end ofthe sleeve, gripping the slack in one hand so as to cause the bag tohang from the sleeve. As the material with which the bag is to be filledenters the bag the weight thereof stretches the springs, causing thesleeve and the bag to move down until the bag rests on the conveyor.Thereafter the springs tend to lift the bag and therefore hold the sidesthereof taut until the bag is complete- 1y filled.

While I have illustrated and described with particularity only a singlepreferred form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to theexact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend tocover all forms and arrangements which come within the terms employed inthe definitions of my invention constituting the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine of the character described, a bag filling means, averticallymovable member for holding a bag below said filling means,means for partially counterbalancing said member and a filled bagthereon, a stop, and means for alternately raising said member anddropping it against said stop to jar the contents of the bag.

2. In a machine of the character described, a bag filling means, averticallymovable member adapted to support a. bag below said fillingmeans, a stop for arresting the downward movement of said member, adevice for partially counterbalancing said member and a filled bagthereon, means for adjusting said device to vary the counter-balancingeffect thereof and means for alternately raising said member anddropping it so as to cause the contents of the bag to be jarred.

3. In a machine of the character described. a bag filling means. asewing machine, a single endless conveyor arranged below said means andsaid sewing machine, means for driving. said conveyor intermittently soas to permit a bag to be held under said filling means until it receivesits charge and then to be carried past said sewing machine to be closedthereby, and means vibrating said conveyor to cause the contents of abag thereon to be compacted.

4. In a machine of the character described, a bag filling means, asewing machine, a single endless conveyor arranged below said means andsaid sewing machine, means for driving said conveyor intermittently soas to permit a bag to be held under said filling means until itreceives-its charge and then to be carried past said sewing machine tobe closed thereby, and means for alternately raising the conveyor andpermitting it to drop against a support so as to jar the contents of abag on the conveyor and cause them-to be compacted.

5. In a machine of the character described, a bag filling means, amember arranged below said filling means and pivotally supported at oneend, a stop for limiting the downward swinging movement of said member,and means for alternately raising the other end of said member anddropping'it so as to cause the contents of a bag supported on saidmember to be compacted.

6. In a machine of the character described, a bag filling means, amember .ar-

ranged below said means and pivotally supported at one end, a stop forlimiting the downward swinging movement of sai member, a springsuspending means for the other end of said member, and means foralternately swinging said member up wardly away from said stop andpermitting it to drop against the resistance of sai spring. I

7. na machine of the character described, a bag filling means, a memberarranged below said means and pivotally supported' at one end, a stopfor limiting t e downward swinging movement of said member, a springsuspending means for the other end of said member, means for adjustingthe tension of said spring suspending means, and means for alternatelyswinging said member upwardly away from said stop and permitting it todrop against the resistance of said spring.

8. In a machine of the character described, a bag filling means, a bagclosing means, a single endless conveyor for supporting a bag below saidfilling means in order to permit thesame to be filled, a stop, means foralternately raising said conveyor and dropping it on said stop to settleand compact its contents, and means for moving said member to carry-thefilled sack past said closing means.

9. In a machine of the character de scribed, an endless conveyor, asupporting frame for said conveyor pivoted at one end, a stop below theother end of the frame, means for driving the conveyor, and means foralternately swinging said frame upward and dropping it on said stop.

10. In a machine of the character described, an endless conveyor, avertically swinging supporting frame therefor pivotally supported at oneend, a stop for limiting the downward movement of the free end of theframe, a movable strut movable from a position in which it supports saidframe clear of the stop to an inoperative position, a cam roll on theframe, a rotatable cam co-operating with said roll and constructed andarranged alternately to lift said frame from said stop and drop it whensaid strut is in its inoperative position, and means for moving saidstrut from one of its said positions to the other.

11. In a machine of the character described, an endless conveyor, avertically swinging supporting frame therefor pivotally supported at oneend, means for raising and lowering the pivoted end of said frame, astop for limiting the downward movement of the free end of the frame, amovable strut movable from a position in which it supports said frameclear of the stop to an inoperative position, a cam roll on the frame, arotatable cam cooperating with said roll and constructed and arran edalternately to-lift said frame from sai stop and drop it when said strutis in its inoperative position, and means for moving said strut from oneof its said positions to the other.

12. In combination, a sup-port for a bag which is being filled, a pipeabove said support for discharging material into a bag, a member mountedon said pipe so as to be movable vertically thereon, said member havingthereon means for entering the mouth of the bag and holding the bagsuspended, and springs supporting said member, the parts being soproportioned and said springs being sufiiciently strong to cause the bagto be held clear of said support until it has received a part of itscharge. a r

In testimony whereof, I sign this specifica-v tion.

- GEORGE HOEPNER.

